Every Rose Has Its Thorns
by Amanuansis908
Summary: Set post-movie. Rose Copper is a teenager who might be ready to do anything to ascend to the throne...(May change rating to T)
1. Rose In Retrospect

Rose Copper was often compared to the flower of her namesake. Oh, yes she was quite the beauty with long, cascading dark brown curls always in twin loose braids, dreamy, wide, hazel eyes, a rather slim, angular face and a versatile body that complimented every one of her dresses. But she was, of course, your average teenager with a rather short fuse and that escaped doing her chores on a daily basis to hang out with her best friends Sharon and Annie. Rose lived at the very edge of the kingdom of Baltimore, nearly at the foot of their neighboring kingdom rival, the Moors.

Living at the edge of Baltimore, Rose often found herself wishing that she could live in the palace, for at the end of each and every day from the first thing she could remember, sunset was the time one could look toward the castle, and it would seem but a short walking distance away. On every shooting star the girl prayed to one day reside in the castle, until the day all she wanted was to belong somewhere.

It was a sunny, spring day, the air was crisp, the grass a bright green and the sky a clear blue, all contrary to the news Rose was to receive later that day. She was picking blackberries with her friends at the very border between the bitter kingdoms in the late afternoon.

"What do you think lives in there?" Sharon asked no one in particular, nodding towards the Moors, looking up from her basket of berries. The stocky blonde was infamous for her notoriously dumb often rhetorical questions. The certain bush they were harvesting from was barely a few yards from the border.

"My father says daydreaming about what lurks behind this forest is nonsense. The legends are fake." Annie sniffed. The short-statured girl with a short, black, glossy bob never going past her elfish ears repeated all that her parents told her, in her eyes, all adults were correct about anything and everything.

"Your father can't tell a bull from a cow." Sharon spat venomously. This was the common issue about having friends who's personalities clashed-there was never a moment of peace.

"What legends?" Inquired Rose, breaking up the bitter feud. Sharon blinked at her question.

"So you're telling me your mother and father never told you about-" She grabbed Rose's collar and pulled her towards her face.

"-Headless Harry?" Annie rolled her eyes.

"Here we go again, another one of your 'stories'." Ignoring her, Sharon continued.

"Well, legend has it that twenty or so years ago, King Henry, the king before Stefan, his army fought a horrible, bloody battle on this ground. The opponents were lead by a legion of mythical beasts as tall as these trees and as fast as striking snakes led by a fearsome, indestructible commander. Many soldiers lost their lives that day, and were buried, but the body of a knight named Harry was found without his head. The people were forced to bury him just like that, because nobody bothered to go searching for it. Why, it could be in this very bush for all we know! People in our own village have even claimed to see his ghost wandering around in the wee hours moaning:" At this point, Sharon dropped her berry basket, letting the fruit roll aimlessly on the ground, before grabbing on to Rose's shoulders. She let out an involuntary scream.

"WHEEERE IIIISSSS MYYY HEEEEEAAAAADDDD!?" When Sharon let go, Rose dusted off the front of her blouse with a frown.

"Have _you_ ever seen him?" Sharon reached down to pick back up her basket.

"Heh, I wish." Annie looked towards the horizon.

"It's getting late, we should go home soon." Sharon snorted.

"It's only about five o' clock."

"It's late for me, I go to bed at seven."

"What's the _real_ reason you won't stay out any later, I've seen you helping your brother collect firewood close to nine."

At this, Annie was hesitant in her response.

"Do you not bear in mind that _some_ people want to get up early the next day?"

Sharon was immensely enjoying herself.

"Yeah, right. You're probably terrified of what might be in there." She gestured to the area past the bushes.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

Rose sighed and shook her head.

"How about we stay a little longer, _then_ Annie can go."

Annie glared at Sharon.

"I'm fine, thank you very much, I'll stay out here _all night_ if I have to."

In actuality, the girls stayed out until a little past Annie's bedtime, and Rose bid her friends farewell and started the trek home.


	2. Rose The Runaway

"Rose dear, I've arranged for you to meet your future husband." Mr. Copper, Rose's father revealed as the family was calmly eating dinner in their cozy little cottage. Rose blinked and dropped her spoon in her porcelain bowl filled with pumpkin stew.

" _Husband?_ " She squeaked in disbelief. Mr. Copper continued without missing a beat.

"Yes, his name is Robert Lawrence, an esteemed knight in the Royal Army. The wedding will be held in a month's time."

Rose turned to glance desperately at her mother, her almost undone braids slapping the right side of her neck.

"Rose, we've talked about this before and made the preparations."

Her nonchalant expression changed as she gazed fondly into the eyes of her daughter.

"Oh, you're just growing up so quickly my darling." Rose refused to believe this.

"But, _why_?"

's smile disappeared as she took a deep breath.

"Rose, you know my seamstress shop has been barely keeping us fed for the past few months."

"So this Robert Lawrence is the solution to your money issues, huh? Marry your only daughter off to keep the family business afloat, classic." Rose growled, a certain poison in her words.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?" Her hazel eyes shone with rage.

stood straight up at his daughter's words and banged his fist on the table, spilling his soup and causing a miniature earthquake.

"I'LL HAVE ENOUGH OF THAT, YOUNG LADY! YOU WILL BE MARRIED NO MATTER WHAT! YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL FOR EVERYTHING WE'VE DONE FOR YOU! WHY, YOU WOULDN'T EVEN BE HERE IF IT WASN'T FOR US, STARTING FROM THE DAY _FOURTEEN YEARS AGO_ , WHEN YOU WERE BUT A WHINING INFANT, AT THE EDGE OF THAT WRETCHED FOREST!"

His eyes widened in regret as he realized the information he had let slide. Rose's vision clouded over as she whipped her hair back and forth in confusion.

"H-how?"

tried in vain to calm her raging daughter and placed a hand on hers.

"It's not that way, dear..."

Rose 's hands flew up as she now stood, rising to her full height, looking as menacing as a teen in a dirty blouse and skirt could.

"But it _is_ that way, mother...Or should I even call you that."

Rose's mother opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.

"Adopt the helpless little girl you found at the border, _why not_? _It is_ the right thing to do, after all. You never _really_ wanted me after all."

Rose sped to the front door and swung it open with a force greater than what a girl's strength should be.

" _My REAL parents didn't either!"_ And with that final accusation, Rose slammed the door closed and was gone.


End file.
